Coaching (Postgraduate Certificate)

Combining academic study with practical application and skill development, this Postgraduate Certificate is the essential starting place for experienced managers who wish to understand the role of professional helping relationships at work, and their impact in and out of organisations.

Organisations have woken up to the fact that most employees need some additional perspective to help them be successful in their roles. Coaching as an intervention to address this has grown exponentially. Some pertinent questions remain, and need reflection: Why has coaching emerged now? Why is it seen to be so relevant? How can we tell when/if it works? Is it different from counselling and psychotherapy? Are certain types of coaching more effective, under certain conditions, with certain people?

You will be introduced to the history and variety of coaching and helping relationships, review a range of coaching techniques and discuss their relevance and efficacy, and consider pertinent issues that face the contemporary coach.

Using case studies and client work you will have the opportunity to analyse and understand your own work through a range of lenses, allowing for different interpretations. You will learn to supervise effectively, explore different responses and reflect on the coaching relationship process. Issues that are often overlooked, such as ethics, change, boundaries and defences, are highlighted. Rather than looking at coaching in isolation, you will consider it in the context of evidence frameworks, organisational systems and practices, and organisations as political arenas.

Course structure

Module groups

Compulsory modules

Entry requirements

A first degree in any discipline, or sufficient experience of helping relationships and/or people-oriented activities, such as extensive line management experience.

International entry requirements

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.

Visa requirements

If you are not from the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or Switzerland and you are coming to study in the UK, you may need to apply for a visa.

The visa you apply for varies according to the length of your course:

Courses of more than six months’ duration.

Courses of less than six months’ duration.

Pre-sessional English language courses.

International students who require a Tier 4 visa should apply for our three-year evening study BA/BSc/LLB degrees, as these are classified as full-time study and qualify for student visa status. If you are living in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, you will not be eligible to enrol as a student on Birkbeck’s part-time evening study degrees.

Credits and Accredited Prior Learning (APL)

If you have studied at university previously, you may have accumulated credits through the modules you studied.
It may be possible to transfer these credits from your previous study to Birkbeck or another institution.
You should discuss this with the Programme Director when you are making your application.

Fees

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their programme. Tuition fees for students continuing on their programme in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases. For more information, please see the College Fees Policy.

Teaching

At Birkbeck, almost all of our courses are taught in the evening and our teaching is designed to support students
who are juggling evening study with work and other daytime commitments. We actively encourage innovative and
engaging ways of teaching, to ensure our students have the best learning experience. In the 2017 Teaching
Excellence Framework (TEF), the government’s system for rating university teaching, Birkbeck was allocated a
Silver award.

Teaching may include formal lectures, seminars, and practical classes and tutorials. Formal lectures are used in
most degree programmes to give an overview of a particular field of study. They aim to provide the stimulus and
the starting point for deeper exploration of the subject during your own personal reading. Seminars give you the
chance to explore a specific aspect of your subject in depth and to discuss and exchange ideas with fellow
students. They typically require preparatory study.

Our distance-learning and blended-learning courses and modules are self-directed and we will provide you with
interactive learning opportunities and encourage you to collaborate and engage via various learning technologies.
These courses involve limited or no face-to-face contact between students and module tutors.

In addition, you will have access to pastoral support via a named Personal Tutor.

Methods of teaching on this course

Face-to-face lectures and seminar groups.

Contact hours

On our taught courses, you will have scheduled teaching and study sessions each year. Alongside this, you will
also undertake assessment activities and independent learning outside of class. Depending on the modules you take,
you may also have additional scheduled academic activities, such as tutorials, dissertation supervision, practical
classes, visits and fieldtrips.

On our taught courses, the actual amount of time you spend in the classroom and in contact with your lecturers will
depend on your course, the option modules you select and when you undertake your final-year project.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, discussion, collaboration and interaction with your lecturers
and fellow students are encouraged and enabled through various learning technologies, but you may have limited or
no face-to-face contact with your module tutors.

Timetables

Timetables are usually available from September onwards and you can access your personalised timetable via your
My Birkbeck Profile online (if you have been invited to enrol).

Indicative class size

Class sizes vary, depending on your course, the module you are undertaking, and the method of teaching.
For example, lectures are presented to larger groups, whereas seminars usually consist of small,
interactive groups led by a tutor.

Independent learning

On our taught courses, much of your time outside of class will be spent on self-directed, independent learning,
including preparing for classes and following up afterwards. This will usually include, but is not limited to,
reading books and journal articles, undertaking research, working on coursework and assignments, and preparing
for presentations and assessments.

Independent learning is absolutely vital to your success as a student. Everyone is different, and the study time
required varies topic by topic, but, as a guide, expect to schedule up to five hours of self-study for each hour
of teaching.

On our distance-learning and blended-learning courses, the emphasis is very much on independent, self-directed
learning and you will be expected to manage your own learning, with the support of your module tutors and various
learning technologies.

Study skills and additional support

Birkbeck offers study and learning support to undergraduate and postgraduate students to help them succeed.
Our Learning Development Service can
help you in the following areas:

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of your university studies and usually consists of a combination of coursework and
examinations, although this will vary from course to course - on some of our courses, assessment is entirely by
coursework. The methods of assessment on this course are specified below under 'Methods of assessment on this
course'. You will need to allow time to complete coursework and prepare for exams.

Where a course has unseen written examinations, these may be held termly, but, on the majority of our courses,
exams are usually taken in the Summer term, during May to June. Exams may be held at other times of the year as
well. In most cases, exams are held during the day on a weekday - if you have daytime commitments, you will need
to make arrangements for daytime attendance - but some exams are held in the evening. Exam timetables are
published online.

Methods of assessment on this course

Careers and employability

Graduates go on to careers in coaching, psychology, human resources and business. Possible professions include career coach, occupational psychologist, or human resources officer. This degree can also be useful in becoming a careers adviser.

We offer a comprehensive Careers and Employability Service to help you advance your career, while our in-house, professional recruitment consultancy, Birkbeck Talent, works with London’s top employers to help you gain work experience that fits in with your evening studies.